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TOP TIPS FOR BUYING LISTS
If you are buying list data whether for direct mail, email campaigns or for SMS marketing, you will be treading in a minefield. The reason is that lists go out of date very quickly and list owners don’t always admit the fact.
FACT - Evidence collected from around the world in many different mailing situations has proved that the list quality and relevance contributes to at least 50% of the response.
So before you think about stunning headlines, arresting copy and fabulous designs, it pays to get your data right! Here are some tips to help you do it:
| First design your profile. The best list you will buy is nearly always going to be the list with the nearest profile to your own customer file. But not always. Lateral thinking sometimes plays dividends. A list of vitamin pill buyers was highly successful in promoting a classical music club. So the next rule is… |
| Test a representative sample of the list before you roll out the whole quantity. A significant test will usually be 5000 names. If the data proves to give a good return on investment, then milk it. |
| Ask for a random sample of the list to look at. |
| Ask the list owner for some successful users. But don’t stop there. If you can, contact the successful users yourself. |
| Ask what the source of the list is – how and when it was built. |
| Ask how often the list is updated. With direct mail lists, is it fully postcoded? Does it have phone numbers? What other data is available on the records? |
| What is the total number of names available and what is the minimum order quantity? |
| What selections are available? E.g. gender, recency, order value, nth selection, flagging? |
| Are there restrictions on use, for example competitors? Are you buying the list for one time use, 12-month lease or outright purchase? |
| Without paying extra, has the list been pre-cleaned, for example has it been de-duplicated or passed through the MPS file? |
| Is it possible to get a net names agreement (where you check your file against the list owners file and only pay for new names)? |
| Will the list owner give you refunds on non-deliverables and bounces? If not, why not? |
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